Data Science & AI Technical Sales Review

I really enjoyed my placement because I was able to make it my own. Whilst there were regular tasks that needed completing, I had enough time to take part in many activities outside of my immediate team. This gives you a great chance to develop more as an employee, as well as explore more of IBM, because it is a huge company and it is very easy to think that your line of business is the only one.

I felt really valued by my colleagues. Obviously that depends on your colleagues expectations of you at the start, and your ability to perform in the role. I think what is most important is showing you are passionate about the role and about helping the business - colleagues always value a team member who is motivated to work to the common goal.

My manager was quite senior so I only saw him infrequently - luckily, I had good mentors, assigned by my manager who were able to guide me and act as a sounding board. You are assigned an EPM who is great at looking out for your welfare and progression within IBM.

For the first month I was very busy learning and meeting new people. The next couple of months were a bit quiet as people began to learn what I could offer the team, and I found out what I liked to do/was good at. From this point I have been very busy on a daily basis which is great for my development.

I was given a lot of responsibility, however, I would say that responsibility is relevant. For an intern in a large company I was happy with the importance of the jobs I was given, whether that be work for important internal processes or work that had a client facing element - there was a sense of accountability which is important to keep you engaged.

I have developed a lot of soft skills especially those that will help me become a better employee. Public speaking and networking are skills that are so vital to every job and you can't help but pick them up through a year of working. I have picked up a lot of specific skills through education provided by IBM.

The office is very quiet on Monday & Friday. The days in-between the atmosphere is great and there are always people open and happy to talk to the younger members of the team. The office space I was in had a flexi-desk arrangement which meant that everyone was integrated and you didn't feel obliged to sit with the same people in the same area.

The placement is well organised, but there could be an improvement in the relationship between the organisers of the placement and the teams you will actually work with. Every quarter you have a meeting with the organisers, and sometimes it feels like they are two completely separate companies. There are good online resources available which detail all the main events throughout your year which is very useful.

It is more a case of people investing in you as opposed to a coordinated effort by the firm. Most employees are more than willing to give you time and offer to mentor you which is good because you can get an insight into many different areas of the business and a chance to develop lots of different skills - as long as you search these people out and are willing to learn.

There are many avenues you can explore to return as a future employee. You can go onto become an apprentice, a degree apprentice, a short term placement student, an intern and ultimately a graduate which is a highly competitive and regarded scheme. There are so many different areas to work in that there are always a range of interesting and appropriate employment prospects.

The social scene was strong. There is a large intake of interns and placement students each year which means there is always a core group of similar age colleagues keen to socialise together. There are also lots of opportunities to socialise with older colleagues. There are a number of planned events throughout the year which are social highlights.

I was located in Southbank which is quite a tourist-centric area, as such, living and socialising was quite expensive. That said, compensation is sufficient to maintain a good level of socialising. Being near Waterloo the office is well placed to commute which can help to save money on rent, but commuting every day can increase costs if you are not savvy about travel.

The nightlife was good in the vicinity around the office. There are plentiful bars, pubs, restaurants etc. to suit almost any taste. You will probably find that a standard nightlife is to go to a bar for a few drinks with colleagues and then get some food all before the last train journeys of the evening.

I wasn't aware of a lot of activities outside of work. There is the annual corporate games which is a great event to take part in if you are into sports or even team building activities etc. It depends on how you develop a social group with other employees/colleagues the extent to which you can find activities outside of work.